The pitch black cover that was the night sky blanketed over the town of Konohagakure. The moon was shrouded by the immense group of passing clouds, leaving only the distant white specks of the stars to provide any light. It was almost like clockwork, how the lanterns and candles went out throughout the homes and buildings within the village. Almost simultaneously, the lights were put out, and only the occasional streetlight provided any sufficient manmade illumination.
This dark night provided one particular person with the best opportunity for a midnight field trip. The flash of blue hair whipped quickly as the young woman leaped from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally concealing herself when a Leaf shinobi on patrol passed by. The sea captain of The Midnight Thief swept quickly and effortlessly through the village, away from the building in which she was imprisoned toward the one place where she knew she could get the information she wanted.
The Hokage Tower stood high and mighty, even within the darkness of the shadowy night. The painted red structure stood out against the black shades, allowing the escaped prisoner to spot it easily from a distance away. She smirked slightly as she picked up her pace, being careful to keep her presence unknown to anyone who may be around.
Once she had made it to the building, Kasumi slowly circled around it, trying to find a way inside. After examining the sides of the structure over and over again, she pouted. “Bah, looks like I’m going for the classic breaking and entering method…”
She quickly located the glass window panes that took up the majority of the wall of the Hokage’s circular office. The village leader’s office was on the top floor, and the windows provided a clear view of the town for the Hokage to watch over. The pirate leaped from ledge to ledge, careful to make sure that she did not make a sound. She gently tested each window to find that they were, of course, locked. The Blue Tiger of the Mist twitched her nose in thought, trying to find a way inside the building before the ANBU on patrol spotted her.
Moving quickly, Kasumi reached into the side of her right boot. Hidden in a small pocket on the inside of her shoe was a single senbon needle. The blue-haired female was not a particular fan of this form of weaponry, but she always kept one on her person for situations such as this. The pirate captain may not have favored using them in battle, but she found creative uses for nearly everything she could get her hands on.
A satisfying click from the window lock caused a triumphant smirk to spread across the prisoner’s lips. Slowly and steadily, she slid the glass open to allow entry into the small rounded room. The girl quickly stepped into the room and closed the window behind her.
Suddenly, a passing shade from outside the building alerted Kasumi of another’s presence. She rapidly ducked beneath the window sill, pushing herself against the wall to conceal her form in the confines of the shadows as much as possible. It was then that the moon appeared from behind the black clouds. The moonlight spilled through the clear glass, illuminating the room with faded white light and leaving only a few spaces dark enough to hide in.
The pirate subconsciously inhaled sharply, almost as if she feared that breathing would give away her hiding spot. From her squatting position against the wall by the windows, she watched the shadow of the figure pace back and forth just on the ledge of the roof by the Hokage’s office. After staring at the silhouette of the mysterious person and noticing the strange cat ears that seemed to point out of the head, the teenager concluded that it was an ANBU member.
Despite having a few years of experience with breaking and entering, she had never found a suitable way to stop her heart from hammering so loudly. Even though her own crew and her enemies would consider her a professional at stealth, the hovering thought of getting caught always flittered in the back of her mind.
Moments passed by dreadfully and slowly, even though it was truly only a couple minutes. Just as quick as the figure had appeared, the elite shinobi disappeared to continue the patrol route. Kasumi released a long sigh of relief, though she remembered to make sure that her exhale was not excessively loud.
The Blue Tiger speedily picked herself up and began rummaging through the shelves that circled around the room and the drawers of the leader’s desk. If her assumptions were correct, Tsunade would have one or at least a few copies of a Konohagakure map somewhere in her office. If she was wrong, then she’d have to head to the archives to find one, and chances were that the Hokage’s secret library was even harder to enter than her office.
As she continued flipping through files for a decent map, she grumbled unhappily to herself. She incessantly wondered to herself why she just didn’t go to the Leaf Village Public Library; it would have been so easy to find a diagram of the town there. But the moment she thought of this, she shook her head defiantly. The public library may hold several charts for tourists and locals, but any map that the Hokage used would have significant posts, landmarks, passages, and anything else that would prove to be of great importance. Digging through the busty blonde woman’s messy desk was the only way to find a good enough illustration of the village.
Kasumi spent several long minutes just delving through Konoha’s files, trying to find her objective. She dove into the shelves around the room, and she tore through the drawers, all the while making sure to keep everything in their correct places.
The Blue Tiger of the Mist was about to give up hope of finding a design of Konohagakure by the time she came to the last drawer of the village leader’s table. She pulled on the handle to find that it was locked. At this realization, the blue-haired girl perked up in anticipation. Quickly removing the senbon needle from its hiding place in her heeled shoe, she began picking the bolt of the drawer. Within seconds, the tiny lock clicked, and the pirate threw the drawer open.
Inside were several manila folders lined up next to each other, all squished together to make room for each one. At first, Kasumi paid no mind to the titles of each file or the contents that lay within each one. She was merely looking for a label that would insinuate some form of chart or diagram of the village. But as she fingered through each beige categorizer, her thumb and index finger halted as they reached one particular tab in the drawer.
The female’s eyebrows furrowed together as she removed the file from its place in the line. Her coal eyes stared at the orange sticker at the top of the page that provided a name, indicating what the contents of the folder specifically were.
Kasumi Mayonaka
Curiosity suddenly coursing through her, the captain stood up from her crouched position by the desk drawers and sat in the wheeling spiral Hokage chair. She placed the folder on the wooden surface in front of her and opened it to uncover just what the Leaf Village had found out about her.
There were multiple pages within the file, and she noticed that most of these documents were copies of what that scarred interrogator had been throwing in her face only five days before.
There was a picture of her when she was twelve; it was the last official photograph she had taken as a registered Mist kunoichi. In the photo, her hair was shoulder-length, and her face still had the less-developed look of a preteen. Her Kiri forehead protector was still tied securely around her head.
Kasumi kept her eyes emotionless as she looked at the close-up photograph of her younger self. After analyzing it for a few more moments, she flipped the page to look at the next piece of paper.
The next sheet, surprisingly, was a collage of pictures attached by paperclips and staples, each photo displaying glimpses and glances of a person disguised in a midnight blue cloak. One picture had a clear shot of the back of the cloak, where there was a nice view of a special symbol: a yellow circle with three blue slashes.
The prisoner hummed to herself when she realized what this collection of pictures meant. She was going to be given a definite page in the continental shinobi bingo book. Perhaps not a page that meant she needed to be captured or killed; Konoha definitely wouldn’t assume she’d be able to escape. This would probably be for precaution, at best.
At this point in her criminal career, Kasumi was certain that she was listed in the Kirigakure bingo book as an S-class criminal. However, many of the other nations did not yet know of her true identity; they only knew her as the Blue Tiger of the Mist. Kiri had tried to keep it hush-hush about who she was for a while. Now that Konoha had captured her, a new page in the worldwide shinobi bingo book would surely be added soon.
The Mayonaka wasn’t sure if she was upset or pleased with this outcome. With a simple shrug, the girl flipped to the next page. This paper listed an entire stat sheet of her abilities, no doubt gathered from her records in Kirigakure. The pirate fingered her chin in thought as she observed the information that cataloged her talents and weaknesses. This particular folio had not been updated since her shinobi days, but she had to admit that it was a pretty fair analysis of what she was capable of.
She continued moving through the pages of her folder, only stopping out of curiosity to glance every now and then at what type of documentation her home village and the Leaf had accumulated. Most of the remaining papers merely listed shinobi missions she had completed during her time as a genin and chuunin. Kasumi briefly wondered if some of these records were from any other small towns or ninja nations; it would make sense for Konoha to gather as much information as possible if they wanted to keep her as their prisoner.
The Blue Tiger was about to close the manila file and continue her original search for a map of this accursed village, but she stopped when she glimpsed at the last page of her folder. The words, “the murderer of those closest to her…” popped out to her off the page, and she curiously brought the paper closer to her black eyes to read.
“…When Kasumi was twelve, her immediate family and teammates were found dead in the Mayonaka compound. Interrogations and searches were conducted on the premises. No one had seen anything. However, when questioning was attempted on Kasumi, no information could be extracted from her.
A week after the funerals, Kasumi Mayonaka went missing. Because of this, she is deemed as a missing-nin, and it is suspected that she is the murderer of those closest to her…”
The ex-kunoichi stopped reading after that. She placed the document back in its place, her coal eyes looking at but not comprehending the words on the paper.
Everyone suspected her of assassinating her family and friends? Where did they get this information? How much did they even really know?
A dreadful sense of urgency suddenly spread through her, and she rapidly closed the file and shoved it back in its proper position in the cabinet. In her sudden haste, she almost forgot why she was there in the first place. Completely forgetting about her careful stealth, Kasumi hurried through the desk and shelves again. This time, she did find a map of Konohagakure, but her emotions and mind were running too wildly for her to be thankful that she had found it.
Throwing the rolled map into the inside of her boot, the teenager quickly leaped out of the office, making sure to lock the window behind her. Unlike her usual self, she had thrown caution to the wind just so she could get away from the Hokage’s Tower. Reading the file on herself had freaked her out more than she had originally thought it would. The shinobi nations knew more about her than she thought they did. They didn’t know everything, but that was not necessarily a good thing either. Whatever it was they would be putting in the worldwide ninja bingo book would definitely put more of a bounty on her head. She was charged with the deaths of her family and friends… and in a way, it was her fault.
If she really deserved to have that extra bounty was the question that she could not answer, but the nagging feeling in her head that she deemed was her almost forgotten conscience wouldn’t stop telling her that it was solely her fault her precious ones were dead.
An overwhelmingly nauseating feeling erupted in the pit of her gut, and Kasumi was forced to stop her jumping upon the rooftops to clutch her stomach. A shiver ran up and down her spine, making her nearly freeze in the cool summer’s air. Bile stung her throat, and she almost threw up the disgusting dinner she had eaten only hours before.
A queasy hand reached out to grasp something to keep her balance, but there was nothing there except for air. Her legs collapsed from under her, and her hands attempted to keep her somewhat up by pushing against the cemented roof. Now on her hands and knees, her breath came out raggedly and painfully. Her hyperventilating seemed to pick up as she thought about the day she had changed her life. Sweat pooled at her eyebrows and matted her blue hair to the fair skin of her face.
She had always tried to run away from what she had done. She had always tried to drown her emotions by being the heartless witch she was known across the world as, almost like it would shroud the dark deed that she indirectly caused. But seeing it written down on paper was like reality slapping her in the face.
There really was no escaping her past.
Her guilt flooded through her, and she almost didn’t notice the presence that appeared behind her. “Kasumi…” a sudden voice said.
The blue-haired teenager gasped as she realized that her guard had been so low that she hadn’t even noticed anyone sneaking up on her. She flung herself to her feet and turned around to see her reformation leader from this past morning staring at her with a quizzical look in his uncovered eye.
“Hatake,” the girl instantly spat, hoping her voice was laced with enough venom so that the jounin would not suspect that she had just had a mental breakdown.
Apparently not, for the wary look in the man’s expression did not fade as he slowly approached the girl. “It’s rather strange…” he uttered as he stepped toward her. “When I saw you standing here, I was fully prepared to rope you and drag you back to your cell. Then you collapsed to your knees.”
Kasumi’s charcoal eyes narrowed threateningly, almost forbidding him to continue this train of thought. “What’s it to you anyway?”
The silver-haired male stopped in his tracks, and he shoved his hands in his pockets as he kept his masked face on the prisoner. “What happened?”
The pirate captain couldn’t help but blink in surprise. In her mind, she had imagined him asking how she had escaped from her prison cell or what she was doing out in the village streets. She certainly didn’t expect the ninja to be asking what had happened to her, and she certainly didn’t expect him to ask with any amount of concern. Surprisingly, he had.
Kasumi lightly shook her head, clearing away the confusion and replacing it with guarded skepticism. “It’s none of your business.”
Kakashi’s onyx eye remained on her, obviously trying to probe her for some kind of information about what had just occurred. He found none, for her strict defenses were built up again within seconds. Any amount of distress she had shown minutes before was gone, leaving behind the image of the strong and fierce Blue Pirate captain.
The jounin sighed at this realization. He had been somewhat close to cracking the mystery of the girl, and it was pointless to continue any further. With a jerk of his head, he uttered, “You realize I’ll have to take you back to your cell now, right?”
Unpredictably, the girl nodded in compliance. “I figured as much.” With a final breath of clean air, she moved to follow the shinobi back to the prison.
As the pair headed back towards the Interrogation Building, the jounin couldn’t help but wonder just what the girl had accomplished in her time outside her confines. There was no sign of any destruction, there was no signal of her attacking any place in the village, and there had been no indication of her wanting to put up a fight. Kakashi wasn’t foolish enough to assume that she had escaped her cell for the mere purpose of grabbing some fresh air. But he wasn’t pushy enough to find out just what she had been up to, or at least not right now. He would find out eventually, he was sure of that.
The Hatake also made a mental note to mention to the ANBU that they needed to strengthen their jail system.
**********************************************************
Boom… Boom… Boom…
The incessant pounding against his skull was what aroused the raven-haired temporary captain of the Blue Pirates from his comatose state. With each passing thud against his cranium, he could practically feel his brain jiggling and melting into nothing. It felt like he was bashing his head into the mast of the ship. Before he even opened his eyes, he questioned if he really had been doing it in his sleep, but then he realized he was lying down, so he easily negated that idea.
The male forced his heavy eyelids open, and he left the world of the darkness only to be met with more shadows. Masaru groaned as his eyes attempted to adjust to the dim light that came from a single candle over on his wooden desk. He ran a hand through his spiky black locks, feeling the sticky cold sweat that soaked through his scalp and the red cloth around his forehead.
Heaving himself into a sitting position proved to be strenuous for him, but after several attempts and many hisses of pain, he was able to hurl his legs over the side of his bed and keep himself somewhat upright.
Masaru was just about to stand up and wobble his way out of his cabin onto the deck when his door suddenly opened. The captain squinted his jade orbs against the flickering shadows to see who had dared to enter without knocking, and he visibly relaxed when his white-haired friend walked into the room. He didn’t have to keep up the image of being a fearless captain in front of the other members of the Original Nine. It wasn’t worth it to put up a front for them when they basically knew almost everything about one another.
Osamu smiled when he noticed the younger male sitting up in bed. “Ah, you’re finally awake. Good.”
Masaru furrowed his eyebrows at this as he rubbed some of the sweat off his face. “How long was I out?”
“More than a few hours at least,” the well-dressed pirate answered as he took a seat in the chair at the writing desk. “It’s around midnight right now.”
A grimace spread across the captain’s face as he winced at the news. He had really been unconscious for that long? “How’s the crew?”
The older man shrugged in reply. “Fine. Only a few injuries, nothing major though.” He stared off into the small fire of the wax candle as he let out a small chuckle. “Hehe, they’re all awake, actually. It’s surprising. Ask them to do work, and they’re the laziest bunch I’ll ever see. But now they’re all awake because…” He instantly stopped himself when he remembered who he was talking to, and a frown etched across his face as he looked away nervously.
Masaru easily caught onto what his friend had been about to say, and he let out a short dry laugh. “Heh, they’re all awake because they’re waiting for me to wake up. Then they can yell at me for my decision to retreat.”
Osamu bit his lip anxiously, avoiding eye contact with the other person. “I didn’t say that…”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?” the captain asked, already knowing that he was right.
The suit-wearing man scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “It is… partly, at least…” Masaru narrowed his green eyes skeptically, using the intensity of his gaze to force the rest of the information from the other male. Even though Osamu had been avoiding meeting his captain’s glare, he could still feel it, and he sighed in defeat. “The majority of the crew does not think… you are cut out to be captain.”
The raven-haired man flinched at those words. He had been having those same doubts ever since Kasumi left him in charge. It hurt like a knife to the heart to know that the other pirates agreed with what his mind had been saying.
Masaru reached a calloused hand to rub his mouth and chin in thought, a deep distressed look across his face. His emerald eyes were back to staring at the other person in the room, though without the ferocity laced within them. “And the other members of the Original Nine?”
Osamu sighed with disappointment at this inquiry. “They’re the ring leaders, of course.”
Masaru nodded sadly. Of course. The Original Nine always led the pack in decisions. It’s what made them the leaders of the crew. It was part of the reason why they were special among the Blue Pirates; they were the founders of the pirate crew.
With a forceful push, the captain lifted himself off his bed and slowly moved toward the door. “I guess I should try to talk to them before they organize a mutiny then.”
The older man nodded in agreement. He also stood up from his seat before he blinked in sudden remembrance. “Oh, hold up,” he uttered. Masaru halted at the order, and he watched his companion rifle through the inside pockets of his suit in search of something. A second later, Osamu withdrew a crimson article of clothing from his jacket and held it out to his superior. “This was on the deck of the ship after you passed out.”
The younger male blinked in surprise as he reflexively rubbed his bare neck, just realizing that he had not been wearing his scarf. He grabbed the scarlet clothing, uttering a soft, “Thank you…”
Osamu quietly watched his leader wrap the scarf around his neck. Even in the dim lighting of the cabin, his onyx eyes noticed the red marks and scars that littered the raven-haired man’s collarbone and neckline. Their shapes were not the kinds that were formed from warfare. “Those aren’t battle scars, Masaru…”
The Blue Pirate captain glared out of the corner of his eyes at his comrade as he finished fully wrapping the article of clothing in place. “I’m aware.”
The white-haired criminal frowned at this realization. “How many did they really leave on you?”
Masaru scoffed at this. “Heh, way more than you’ve just seen. My parents took to heart the concept of tough love.”
Deep gray eyes glanced away with guilt, regretting bringing up such a touchy subject. “I’m sorry, Masaru… I forgot about what happened to you.”
The superior’s eyes remained fixed on the guilty person, indifference clear in his green orbs. “I wish I could forget as well. Child abuse is not something I’d wish for any parent to commit.”
Osamu grimaced at these words as he looked back to keep eye contact with his higher-up. “At least your parents are still alive somewhere. I’m sure deep down, they have a bit of reserved love for you.”
The raven-haired pirate turned fiercely on his friend when his statements registered. A disgusted sneer was spread across his face. “Oh yes, because knowing the fact that they would beat me to death for everything I’ve done thus far is such a warming welcome,” he derided sarcastically.
The suit-donning gentleman narrowed his eyes accusingly at this. “I don’t think any of our parents would be necessarily proud of what we’ve done. But it’s a choice we’ve made on our own. I like to think guardians protect you, even if you are in the wrong.”
“Not everyone was gifted with such caring parents, Osamu,” Masaru scorned harshly. He turned away to storm out of the room, but the other man showed an uncharacteristic anger by continuing the argument.
“Not everyone was gifted with life, Masaru,” Osamu shot back. “My parents were taken from me because life is naturally cruel in itself. Be thankful you had anything to live for at all, even if it was just to make sure your parents showed some form of affection. My mother and father could barely whisper words of love in their final moments.”
The two criminals stared harshly at one another, eyeing the other with angry glares. And yet, even as they glowered at each other, they weren’t angry so much at one another or even themselves. They were angry with their pasts and what life had brought on them in their earlier years. And they were upset with the fact that, as adults, they couldn’t evolve passed their pity stage. As they stood in the wooden room, with neither moving to break the silence, they could feel themselves wallowing in their self-pity, and they suffocated in it.
After moments of glaring at each other, their gazes softened, and with ashamed expressions, they sent each other silent apologies.
A knock on the door startled both out of the awkward silence, and Masaru distractedly beckoned the person to enter. A scrawny man with scraggly and stringy blonde locks walked inside to see the two black-clad pirates staring at him anxiously.
Coughing nervously into his hand, the third arrival muttered, “We have just docked…” He looked up to see his captain looking at him expectantly, and he nervously rubbed the thin gray material of his short-sleeved jacket.
“Where have we stopped?” Masaru asked in mild confusion.
Osamu took this moment to turn to the leader of the crew, sending him an expressive gaze. “We’re at Dragon’s Cove.”
Emerald eyes blinked in surprise, both wondering yet understanding why his designated first mate had decided to bring the crew here. It was a very rare instance when the Blue Pirates came to this location, so when they did come here, it was always a sign of great importance. Masaru bit his lip tensely as he speculated whether the meeting this time would be helpful or if it would end in disaster.
With a nod of his head, he led the two other crewmates out of his cabin and onto the deck. Members of the crew were already filing off the ship to hang out in the small inlet. The Midnight Thief was anchored outside a small cave. The entryway to the inside was small enough to be relatively hidden from other ships but big enough to allow sufficient room. The cave was at the base of a large cliff that extended into the mainland. At the mouth of the cave, ten pillars of rock stood around the entrance, signifying the reason as to why the area was called Dragon’s Cove.
The Blue Pirates were exiting the ship to walk along a small pathway that ran along the side of the cavern walls. Inside was a small glittering pond that barely showed any light in the dark cavern. While it wasn’t a mightily beautiful picture, it was enough for the pirates to feel relaxed and comfortable when they weren’t aboard the ship.
Masaru stood at the edge of the rail of the dark blue boat, and he quickly contemplated just what he wanted to talk about and what needed to be discussed with the other founders of the crew. After inhaling deeply, he stood up straight and called out, “I want the members of the Original Nine to meet me on deck immediately!”
He watched the few figures move back through the crowd towards the ship while the remainder of the bandits proceeded further into the grotto to relax. A few patient moments later, eight of the nine founders of the Blue Pirates were scattered around the deck, staring at one another with expectance and eagerness.
“So…” Masaru began nervously, “I suppose we all know what we need to talk about…”
“Yeah, we do,” Hayashi spat, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’re going to talk about how you suck as captain.”
The scarf-wearing pirate winced slightly at these words, though he tried to keep a brave front. “That’s a matter of opinion, I suppose…”
“Well, the majority of us believe that perhaps Captain Mayonaka was wrong in choosing you to be her first mate,” Tsubame said. Her voice was surprisingly calm for the moment, considering she easily became frustrated when dealing with matters such as this.
The temporary chief frowned as he looked around the small group to see everyone else’s reactions. Around the circle of pirates, he received heated glares from his comrades. The only ones who seemed wary of showing any form of frustration towards their captain were Akira and Osamu. The brown-haired girl, however, seemed to be balancing between supporting her leader and siding with the other assassins. The well-dressed man had a tranquil look on his face, prepared to calm any fray that may arise.
Masaru sighed at the division of the original Blue Pirates. “I see that you all are basically mistrustful of me now.”
“No shit,” Ayame muttered. She was leaning against the rail of the ship, distancing herself a bit from the others.
The captain continued on, ignoring the blue-clad woman’s statement. “However, just until Captain Mayonaka comes back, I need you all to follow my orders and bear with my leadership for now.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea anymore, Masaru,” Kaito said blatantly.
No one failed to notice the fact that he did not refer to him as Captain Inoue. Perhaps in a time of leisure, he wouldn’t have minded being called by his first name. However, in a situation such as this particular intense conversation, the barefaced display of disrespect only put a damper on Masaru’s image.
The leader inhaled deeply, trying to suppress his anger. “Oh, really? You all are that upset with my decision to flee from the Mist shinobi? What does that make you all then? A bunch of egotistical hotshots. So we ran away, big deal.”
“It is a big deal, Masaru!” Tsubame shrieked, her previous moment of peaceful civility suddenly gone.
“Yeah, you basically made us look like a pack of cowards,” Rikuto added, narrowing his faded green eyes threateningly.
“Get your heads out of your asses and stop being so damn mighty!” the scarf-donning criminal yelled. “You all have grown much too comfortable in winning your fights. Accept the fact that we lost. It happens, get over it.”
“It doesn’t happen to us though,” Akira interrupted, speaking for the first time. She sent nervous sky blue eyes in his direction, cautious of his reaction. She nearly shied away at the glare he sent her way. She mustered up just enough courage to squeak out the rest of her response. “That’s the big deal here. We’ve never lost before…”
“And that’s because Captain Mayonaka has been leading us since the beginning,” Kaito commented dryly. “Her decision to leave us in the command of her first mate may have been the single mistake she’s ever made as our leader.”
“Alright, fine,” Masaru sighed angrily. “So I made a misjudgment. It’s my fault, I understand that.”
“Which is why we think we should go to Konohagakure now and retrieve our rightful captain,” Hayashi interrupted, casting an angry scowl towards the raven-haired male.
“She hasn’t finished her mission yet,” Osamu cut in before Masaru could blow his top. “Captain Mayonaka would be very angry if we ruined a task she assigned herself.”
“This entire mission in itself is pointless,” Ayame growled. “We can barely last five days without her. She had our best intentions in mind when she decided to take down the Leaf Village, but it’s just not working out as she had planned. We need to go get her before things get worse.”
“And you don’t think I have your best intentions in mind?” Masaru sneered as he rounded on the blue-haired woman. “I ordered us to retreat so there would be no casualties!”
“We would have been fine with a little more time!” Rikuto shouted childishly.
“Do you even hear yourselves?” the captain asked incredulously, looking among his comrades with disbelief.
Tsubame bit her lip in contemplation as she eyed her commander. In a much softer yet equally threatening voice, she said, “The problem isn’t just that you ordered us to retreat. It’s also the fact that you threw us into a fight against disguised shinobi. Captain Mayonaka most likely wouldn’t have put us in danger like that.”
Masaru’s green eyes narrowed ominously at the elegantly-dressed woman. “And how can you be sure she wouldn’t have made the same mistake I did?”
“Because she actually thinks about things! She’s a freaking strategist; she knows more about being a leader than you do!” the red-haired assassin yelled loudly.
“So you guys are questioning me about why I’m her first mate then?” the chief questioned in irritated surprise. “What the hell makes you think I got the position in the first place?!”
“Well, wait a minute,” Akira butted in, a bit of annoyance seeping through, “what makes you more qualified than the rest of us?”
Masaru looked at her in shock that she had now joined the others in reprimanding him. He glared at her fiercely, this stare just as threatening as the others had received. “I was the first to meet her.”
“That doesn’t make a shit load of difference!” the tall dark green-clad male bellowed.
“Yeah, you’re one of the youngest members of this crew,” Kaito said, narrowing his deep gray eyes suspiciously. “Why does she think you’re more experienced than anyone else?”
“Why does age come into play?” the captain countered. “Kasumi is younger than almost everyone here, minus Akira. Yet you all show your respect to her.”
“She’s earned it,” the sword-wielding woman remarked. “What have you done to prove your worthiness to us?”
Masaru was appalled at the audacity of the crew at this point. They never treated Kasumi this way. Then again, he couldn’t remember a time when they had needed to…
“I don’t need to verify my merit to you all,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I have already proven my value to Kasumi, and that is all I need.”
“I don’t see how a punk like you is Kasumi’s right-hand man,” Hayashi hissed out, his anger heatedly boiling.
Masaru turned to the taller male, staring at him with caution. He considered the other man’s words carefully, studying them to catch the hidden intention within them. “So I think the gist of all this chaos is that you guys think that you can do a better job as first mate and captain than me.”
“I can second that notion,” Tsubame said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Now tell me then,” the captain jeered in annoyance, “why should any of you be Kasumi’s first mate? If you all have the nerve to question my value, then I’ll question yours.”
Almost immediately, the band of pirates jumped in to start sharing their worth. Nothing could be heard over the arguing, but the criminals continued their disputing just so they could get their points across. Only Masaru and Osamu remained silent, and they stood side by side to watch the growing fracas amongst their friends. The scarf-donning leader was fully prepared to just let them all be; he had silently concluded that he would let them all blow off their steam on each other, and then he would intervene.
That plan did not come to fruition as Ayame suddenly rounded on him to bring the argument back to his end. “You’re just some physically abused child who somehow weaseled his way into Kasumi’s life! What the hell have you done to make yourself so special to her?!”
That was one breaking point for Masaru. Each member of the Original Nine had a dark past, and upon first meeting one another, they had shared their dark stories. It had been vowed to respect each other’s privacy and not to bring it up again unless the victim brought it up on their own.
Having his old life thrown back in his face like that made something snap inside him, and Masaru uncharacteristically brought a hand up to slap the woman across her face. He only saw red as he prepared himself to do it, but another person’s hand grabbed his raised arm, holding it in place.
The captain turned around to see his white-haired first mate gazing firmly at him with his black eyes. “Stop,” he said curtly.
That single word was able to make something click in his mind. How often had he asked his parents to stop when they raised their hands at him? Subconsciously, there had always been a reason why he would never physically strike a person. He had the scars to prove how brutal a simple punch could be.
Masaru gradually lowered his arm, and his ferocious expression eased into an apologetic stare as he looked to the blue-haired female. She did not return his sincere gaze, but he didn’t mind at that point.
He took a deep inhale of breath to calm his nerves, and he contemplated his next words vigilantly. “I don’t think I should tell you all why Kasumi has me as her first mate…”
“Oh my god,” Hayashi muttered as his eyes widened. “You and Kasumi are dating!”
Pairs of eyes shot open in surprise at his words. “What?” Tsubame asked, appalled.
“What?” Akira mimicked in astonishment.
“In the name of all that is good, what the heck are you talking about?!” Rikuto yelled in shock.
Masaru blinked in bewilderment, and for the longest time, he was unable to say anything. He shook his head quickly to get his head straight, and he stammered out, “N-No, that is not what is going on.”
The katana-wielding male’s mouth fell open as he pointed accusingly at his higher-up. “You stuttered! That means it’s worse than I thought! You two must be secretly married!”
“That’s… kind of disgusting,” Kaito murmured, shaking his head in doubt at his comrade’s words.
“That’s really disgusting,” Ayame agreed with a nod.
“That’s just down right nasty,” Rikuto added with a look of repulsion on his face.
Silence fell upon the group as everyone looked to the man in charge expectantly. Masaru’s nose twitched in irritation, and then he palmed his forehead exasperatedly. “You people have the sickest and most disturbing imaginations I’ve ever seen…”
“Well, what is it then?” Hayashi asked, aggravation clear in his voice. He was obviously upset that his theories were completely incorrect in every manner.
A deep sigh escaped Masaru’s lips as he rubbed his face with calloused hands. His right hand covered his mouth while his left hand fell to land on his hip. His jade orbs nervously looked around the ship, almost as if he was trying to find a way to escape. In this moment, he felt trapped like a rat; he had nowhere to go, and his crewmates were staring at him with hungry eagerness in their expressions.
He exhaled loudly again as he looked to the wooden floor beneath him. Unable to keep eye contact with any of his partners, he muffled into his hand, “I saved her life the day we met…”
A part of him had hoped that no one had heard him while his other half hoped that they did so he wouldn’t have to repeat it. It was the deepest secret held between Kasumi and Masaru and possibly the biggest secret kept on the ship. The Blue Pirates knew of one another’s pasts, and Kasumi’s background was no exception. But this particular moment in her and Masaru’s lives had never been discussed to anyone else, and it was supposed to stay that way.
Today, that promise had to be broken. To protect both of their honors, Masaru had to say it, even if he regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. He was both depressed and glad that Kasumi wasn’t there for this instant.
The temporary leader slowly lifted his stare to see his comrades gawking at him. He couldn’t blame them, honestly. They were used to seeing and hearing things that praised their true captain’s strength. Learning of how she had been saved by her first mate was certainly not something they would have expected to hear.
“I… I don’t understand,” Akira murmured quietly, almost afraid to break the tense silence.
“What happened, Masaru?” Kaito asked, his normally stern appearance replaced with a confused yet curious expression.
The captain rubbed his forehead through the red bandana that covered it, and he closed his eyes tightly to suppress the growing migraine. “I’m not supposed to tell you… It’s not my story to tell…”
“Fine,” Osamu said, casually crossing his arms. He sent his friend an encouraging smile that also showed off his own curiosity. “Then only tell us your side of the tale.”
Nods of agreement and gestures to continue went around the gang, and all pairs of eyes were settled on the provisional boss of the ship. The nineteen-year-old huffed slightly as he leaned against the railing of the ship to get more comfortable. “It’s not a happy story… And it’s not something I’d ever want to happen to anyone… But I guess you need to hear this so you can understand why I am Kasumi’s first mate.”
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Chapter notes: Heehee, we broke the 3000 reading count. Thanks so much for 3162 views, guys! You all are freaking awesome! And 70 reviews, that blows my mind! I honestly never thought this story would get so popular, thank you all for being such great fans of this fic.
So I'm just going to say now that I have been anticipating writing this moment since before the summer, and I am so excited to finally get this chapter out! I'm going to update this story again, hopefully before "next year" (haha, I love that joke, it never gets old). Unfortunately, I can't say I really planned the scene with Kasumi; I wasn't even going to write that scene, but some reviewers seemed really excited to see Kasumi out of her prison cell. So I figured I'd write something for her; I hope it came out alright, it was another made-up-on-the-spot scene, so let's hope it's somewhat enjoyable. But I really enjoyed writing the Masaru scene, so I hope you all like reading it as much as I liked writing it :)
A word of caution, there are more cuss words in here than I normally put in. The Blue Pirates' pottymouths may continue to get worse in the long run, I'll tell you that now.
Hmm... yeah, I guess that's it. I do not own Naruto, so please don't sue me. I can't afford a lawyer with my pay of minimum wage...
Happy Holidays, everyone! May you all be blessed with good fortune!
Over My Head by The Fray
Anyway, read on and enjoy!
Chapter end notes: Haha, evil cliffhanger! I love writing cliffhangers (even though I don't do them that much), but I hate reading them...
There was a lot of references to the Blue Pirates in this chapter, if you couldn't tell. Some backgrounds were revealed, some info on the Original Nine as a group, and such. I would really like to hear some feedback on how that turned out.
Even though the scene with Kasumi wasn't planned, I still kind of like how it turned out. I want to hear what you guys think of that.
The next chapter will be the story of how Masaru and Kasumi met. Hehe, I'm really excited to begin writing it.
Anyway, positive and negative feedback are really appreciated for this! Please leave some reviews telling me how I did.
Thank you all for reading this! You all make my life better by reading my story!